


Different Worlds and Different Rules

by LaLainaJ



Series: Make Some Noise [82]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Conversations, Established Relationship, F/M, Future, That Caroline's Kinda Shocked By, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-08-07 14:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7718602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaLainaJ/pseuds/LaLainaJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline expected to wake up, well rested and ready to face one of her remaining days of high school. She's shocked to wake up in a bed that's definitely not hers, and alarmed that she's naked. Attempting to make an escape she quickly finds out that things are a little more complicated than she had assumed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different Worlds and Different Rules

**Different Worlds and Different Rules**

**(Prompt: minidrabble kc + caroline ends up in her future self's body. Title from 'Where is Home? By Bloc Party. Rated T).**

Caroline's not a big fan of early wake ups.

Her snooze button gets a workout regularly. It's only the fact that if she doesn't get up and get to cheer practice to start barking orders the girls will end up slacking, and ogling the track team instead of stretching, that forces her out of her nice warm bed most mornings. It was her senior year and there was a trophy on the line. Caroline couldn't have the squad wasting valuable practice time.

She's awake but barely, trying to fall asleep again since no alarm had blared, when she notices that there's something… off. The bed she's on is amazing, huge and the sheets feel incredible. The only problem? It's definitely not hers. And she distinctly remembers going to sleep in her own room after a marathon chemistry studying session last night. She smells several things, some familiar others not. Sex and blood. A hint of wine and a whiff of woodsy cologne that she can't immediately place even if it tugs at something at the back of her memory.

Plus, she's naked. And that's alarming.

Caroline fights the urge to panic, tells herself that she has to _think_. She pushes past her nudity, and the black hole in her memory, notes that she's not hungry so at least she's fed recently. Her movements aren't restricted and there's no lingering vervain burns, none of the aches that happen after a major injury. She keeps her breathing steady focuses her senses. Reminds herself that she's been in tight spots before and so far this is _far_ from the worst.

More alert, Caroline cracks her eyes open, and heaves herself up on her elbows, glancing around the room. She doesn't recognize it, only notes that everything in it looks really freaking expensive from the art on the walls, to the leather couches that look buttery soft and inviting, to the heavy curtains that cover what must be huge windows along one wall. There's clothes strewn over the plush carpet and Caroline can hear water falling from an adjoining bathroom.

Excellent. A window to escape and find out where the hell she is and how the fuck she'd gotten there. She didn't know if whoever had taken her was a moron or just overconfident but escape was always the best option if you didn't know who, or what, you were up against. She'd find a phone and call Bonnie. And her mom.

Hurriedly wrapping the sheet around herself she slides off the bed. Caroline skips over the black heels, eyes the torn bit of black lace that might have been panties once just beyond them for a moment before shaking herself. She picks up the pants that lay in the middle of the room, silently cursing when the belt jingles. She listens for a moment but the shower continues to run, no one bounding out to stop her from fleeing. Caroline eyes the pants critically, giving the fabric an experimental tug. They're clearly well made, and have very little give. So not going to fit. She drops them but grabs the shoes that lay next to them. Those she can make work.

She finds a dress next, is dismayed to find that the straps are torn. She slips it on anyway, folds down the waist to ensure it stays put, giving herself a few extra inches of skirt in the process. There's a dress shirt and a suit jacket by the door and she pads over to them.

Ugh. And of course the shirt is missing a couple buttons.

Caroline slips it on and ties it closed, is just about to throw the jacket on and bolt when the bathroom door opens. She freezes, but only for a moment. Then she lunges for the fancy lacquered table next to the door, tearing a leg off and holding it up, her fangs dropping as her vision sharpens.

She stills in confusion because one, her captor is _naked_ , beads of water dripping down his lean form. She _really_ shouldn't be so captivated by the sight by given he's a kidnapping _creep_ but she chalks it up to shock. And two because he's clearly unconcerned about her attempts to escape, rubbing a towel over his hair, obscuring his face, and not looking at her. When he speaks it's conversational, teasing, and Caroline's dealt another blow because she _knows_ it. "You're up early. Surprising, given how late you kept me up. Did you want to join me in the shower, love? I don't mind getting a late start."

Her jaw drops and her grip on her makeshift stake tightens, "Klaus?" she shrieks, her outrage clear. "Are you kidnapping me? God, didn't you _just_ say we were _friends_? Friends don't abduct friends. I thought that was self-explanatory but I guess not." He'd dropped his hands when she'd first started speaking and is blinking at her in confusion. Caroline takes a step back, banging into the door, and the memories of how she'd awoken flooding through her. She feels sick, and her voice shakes when she asks her next question, "Why was I _naked_ and why can't I remember getting naked? What did you _do_ to me?"

Klaus has gone very still, and he wraps the towel around his waist slowly, studying her carefully. "Caroline, sweetheart, take a breath," he instructs her, firm and coaxing, and Caroline finds herself inhaling raggedly in response. "Now, what's the last thing you remember?"

She swallows hard. "I… studying. I have my Chemistry final on Thursday."

Klaus' face remains soft, something like understanding dawning, and he makes no move to approach her. "Right. You told me about this. It was such a long time ago, however. I assure you, sweetheart that I did _not_ kidnap you. And I'm afraid that final was oh, about a hundred and thirteen years ago though I am sure you did excellently."

"A hundred and thirteen … what?!" she finds herself yelping, wincing at the high pitch. "Klaus, that's _insane_."

"I thought so too, but you insisted it happened. Were quite vague on the details, something about refusing to mess with the space-time continuum. At the time I wondered if you'd been dabbling in some of the herbs witches peddle but I guess I've been proved wrong. I do wish I'd pressed for more details."

"I would never," Caroline spits out, offended at the implication that she'd done _drugs_.

An amused little smile plays about Klaus' mouth, "I happen to know that you have, love. You've passed your 130th birthday at this point in time. You've always delighted in new experiences. Is it really so hard to believe that you've experimented a bit?"

Caroline glares, "Do you really expect me to buy any of this? Cut the crap, Klaus."

He sighs, and nods to a small sparkly purse that had been hidden under the table Caroline had destroyed, "Your phone should be in there, love. Why don't you take a look through it while I dress?"

Caroline debates her options. Going out, alone, with no money, or staying here and humoring Klaus' crazy long enough to get answers? It was a tough decision.

Klaus waits for her grudging nod before heading to a stack of suitcases in the corner of the room. He rummages for a moment. He glances over at her, "Would you like something else to wear?"

Caroline eyes him suspiciously, her back still pressed tightly against the door.

Klaus shakes his head, and gathers a few things before disappearing into the bathroom. Caroline dives for the bag the second the door's shut. The phone's right on top, slim and silver. She taps the screen, almost fumbling at the photo that pops up. It's a selfie, Klaus looking mildly annoyed while she presses a kiss to his cheek, her hair blowing in the wind. Caroline bites her lip and presses her thumb to the single button. 'Identification Accepted' flashes across the screen and Caroline's left looking at an array of unfamiliar icons.

Maybe there was something to this whole 'You're in the future!' thing.

She goes right to the one labeled photos, begins to flick through the dizzying array. There are a lot of them. Places she's never been to, things she's never seen. Klaus pops up frequently, often not directly in the frame, like she'd been sneaky about getting him in the photo. She's shocked to see Rebekah, Kol and Elijah too. Enzo's in several, and Stefan. Tons of people she doesn't recognize. Caroline finds herself sinking to the floor, her legs trembling and weak.

Can vampires have panic attacks? Was there a paper bag she could breathe into? Did those even still _exist_?

Caroline swallows down a hysterical laugh and opens the phone's browser, searches 'today's news.' Clicks on links, barely skims the information, just confirms that the dates are exactly what Klaus had indicated.

She's more than a freaking century in the future.

If this is a prank, or a trick, it's pretty damn elaborate. Klaus is powerful, but Caroline doubts he can control the whole internet.

She goes back to the pictures, hungrily studies the details. It's blowing her mind that she'll go to all these places someday.

That's how Klaus finds her when he reappears, wide eyed and bent over the phone. He's fully dressed this time and he takes one look at her before retrieving a bottle of liquor and a blanket. Caroline takes a hearty swig of the bourbon once it's offered, realizing that it can't make things any _worse_. It burns but she doesn't care. She drapes the blanket Klaus had handed over across her lap and tries to figure out what to say.

Klaus had assumed she'd join him in the shower. They travelled together, shared luggage. Possibly a life. Had he been responsible for the torn clothes she'd found? Had some version of herself actually ripped his shirt off him?

How had _that_ even happened?

Klaus settles down across from her, legs stretched out in her direction. His eyes catalogue her every reaction hungrily but his movements are careful, not letting himself get too close. Caroline finds herself appreciative. "So…" she begins slowly, plucking at the blanket. "You and future me are a thing, huh?"

He smiles, leans back on his hands. "It's relatively new, truth be told. Less than a decade. You nearly made me wait the full century."

Caroline's honestly kind of floored that he _had_ waited. Last she'd heard he was set to leave Mystic Falls in his dust. She'd kind of assumed she'd leave his mind once he found someplace bigger and better. Had told herself she had no right to be sad or wistful about that, given who Klaus was and the fact that she shouldn't be feeling _anything_ for him after the things he'd done.

She clears her throat, letting her eyes drift around the room. She thinks it's a hotel. As lovely as it is there's nothing of her here. Nothing that speaks of Klaus, either. "Where are we?"

Again, Klaus answers easily. Seemingly content to let her drive the conversation. "Tokyo, actually. It's a favorite of yours. It's the first time we've been here together. Just arrived the day before yesterday. It was supposed to be my day to pick the sights."

"Sorry," Caroline apologizes, letting her eyes meet his briefly. She quickly looks away, finds the way he's watching her unnerving. "For the whole time travelling thing messing up your turn."

He waves her off, unconcerned. "No matter. We've really nothing but time. Future you will make it up to me. Besides, one of the few things my Caroline told me about this incident was that her visit wasn't particularly long. I believe you'll return to your proper time and place soon enough."

Caroline processes that, takes a longing glance at the covered windows. "Can we… leave?" She asks tentatively. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and meets his gaze once more, feeling oddly shy, "I meant it when I said I'd never been anywhere. I figure I might as well take advantage of whatever weirdness is screwing with me, right?"

Klaus smiles and rises, "Of course we can, sweetheart. I'd be delighted to keep my promise of showing you around." He nods towards the suitcases, his toe nudging at her foot. It's encased in what must be his shoe and she catches a hint of a smirk on his lips, "I find your ensemble fetching, of course but it might draw a few stares. Why don't you change? I'll grab us something to eat. Do you need blood or will food suffice?"

"Food is fine," she tells him, reaches out without thinking. Klaus clasps her hand and pulls her to her feet. She's not sure if it's her surprise at the ease of her action, or if he'd put a little extra elbow into it, but she ends up stumbling into him. He steadies her, his free hand on her hip, before taking a step back to an almost polite distance.

She fleetingly wishes he hadn't, had stayed pressed against her.

Not thoughts she should be having. Even if release has been hard to come by with Tyler gone. She firmly reminds herself of exactly whose fault _that_ is. She manages to stop herself from tossing him a dirty look, because what was the point of holding something Klaus had done a century ago against him right now?

She had obviously managed to get over it at some point. The way she'd woken up, the state of the clothes on the floor, made it abundantly clear that future Caroline and future Klaus were significantly more than friends.

"Am I happy?" she blurts out, lifting her eyes to study Klaus.

He seems to consider the question, for several long moments. "I believe you are. It's not perfect. I have enemies and certain friends of yours still aren't all that fond of me. You and Rebekah have only managed to tolerate each other in short bursts and you think Elijah is a 'self-righteous busy body.' We fight. I'm not particularly good at apologies and neither of us admits defeat easily. Compromise is a battle. But so far we've always made up and I've every intention of seeing that trend continue."

It's honest. More honest than she was expecting. He could have painted something prettier, tempting words about their adventures or their passion. She thinks she likes the reality better. Can see herself wanting it someday. Something complicated and challenging. It sounds like it would never be boring, at least. Klaus has always pushed her, made her question how she saw the world, and herself. Maybe he still does the same for future her, and maybe she manages to do the same for him.

She thinks about asking him if he's happy, but the way he's watching her kind of makes it unnecessary. Fascinated, but distant. His words had told her all that she needed to know. Klaus tried for her, attempted to, as she'd once advised, get out of his own way. He wouldn't bother if he didn't _want_ to.

The silence has lingered, and it's grown a little heavy. Caroline offers him a smile, "I'll be quick. And I have high expectations," she jokes. "Current me might decide to make you wait _two_ centuries, you know."

He hasn't dropped her hand, and he bows, a touch theatrically, dropping a kiss to the back of her knuckles. Caroline rolls her eyes, but Klaus speaks before she can mock him for being cheesy. His eyes hold hers, teasing and lit with determination, "Challenge accepted, sweetheart."

She hadn't meant it like that. Caroline has a sinking feeling that there's no way he's not going to win. Maybe current her won't even last as long as future her had.

"God, this time travel thing is confusing," she blurts out, before tugging her hand away from Klaus. He chuckles softly and lets himself out of the room. Caroline's glad he'd taken the hint, and was letting her get her bearings.

There was no way she was going to miss this opportunity. A free trip to Tokyo? She could worry about the rest, the faint stirrings of unease about what spending time with _this_ version of Klaus would do to her, and how this had even _happened_ , later. Much later. Klaus had been right when he'd said she had nothing but time.


End file.
